Qatar’s Power International Holding has signed an agreement to purchase the Kazakhstani cellular operator Mobile Telecom-Service, including the brands Tele2 and Altel, and intends to complete the acquisition by the end of the year. The Qatari purchase of Mobile Telecom-Service will be the first step towards the demonopolization of the mobile telecommunications market in Kazakhstan.
There are currently three cellular operators in Kazakhstan providing mobile communication services to the public. Notably, two of them — JSC Kcell and Mobile Telecom-Service — are subsidiaries of JSC Kazakhtelecom and include the Kcell, Aktiv, and Tele2/Altel (unified under Mobile Telecom-Service) brands. Their total domestic market share stands at 62%.
Another player in Kazakhstan’s mobile communications market is KaR-Tel, representing the Beeline brand and controlling the remaining 38 percent of the market. Currently its largest local shareholder is the Kazakh businessman Bulat Utemuratov, who controls 25% of shares. The remaining 75% belong to the Dutch company VEON Holdings B.V. — which is the current iteration of what was once Russia’s VimpelCom.
The current market dynamics have led to the rise of a mobile-carrier oligopoly, and is causing unjustified and unhindered increases in both prices and tariffs. In just the last year alone, cellular operators have repeatedly increased prices for their services, with some tariffs nearly tripling in price.
